For much of the county, Oct. 15 was just another fall Friday. But for a small group of folks outside Cedar Lee Middle School, it was party time, complete with music, balloons, special guests and cookies. The groundbreaking was held to kick off a major expansion and renovation at the school.
Superintendent of Schools David Jeck, County Supervisor Chris Butler, school board members Stephanie Litter-Reber, Donna Grove, Duke Bland, Susan Pauling, and Cedar Lee Middle School Principal Leah Shorb made use of golden shovels to celebrate the groundbreaking.
The day was a long time coming. School Board member Duke Bland (Marshall District) remembers discussing the expansion in 2005. Friday’s celebration was held about where 12 to 14 new classrooms will be built.
The current structure, which includes the original 1973 building and two additions completed in 1998, houses 622 students and 89 staff members.
The facilities at Cedar Lee consist of 51 classrooms, a cafeteria, gymnasium, library, a technology education center, an agriculture science laboratory and two computer labs. The building totals 105,062 square feet and is of single-story brick and block construction.
The expansion will increase the current student capacity by 300 students and provide for a core capacity of 1,000 students.
Additional components of the project include:
- The addition of an auxiliary gymnasium to accommodate the increased student body.
- An expansion of the cafeteria area to accommodate one full grade level and the cafeteria serving lines.
- Additional parking and a redesign of the bus loop to accommodate additional staff, parent parking and bus capacity in the front of the school building.
- Expansion of the main office to provide space for additional staff needed to support the larger student population. The office redesign will include a secured entry/access vestibule for the main school entrance.
- The academic addition is designed to include 12 to 14 classrooms, along with additional teacher resource areas.
- Adequate custodial/utility and teacher support areas will be included as well.
Music for the celebration was provided by Cedar Band and orchestra students, directed by band director Katelyn Smyth and orchestra director Blake Jones.
The Liberty High School JROTC color guard was all smiles. Most students who graduate from Cedar Lee Middle School move across the street to Liberty for high school.
The Stantec architectural and design firm designed the new additions; Taft Construction has already begun construction.
The cost of the project is estimated to cost 13% more than originally expected. The most recent estimate is about $22 million.
The school division has set aside about $4 million for this project and for renovating Taylor Middle School; the county has committed to providing almost $18 million for the purchase of bonds to pay for the project. The county will pay itself back when the bonds are sold.
Cedar Lee Principal Leah Shorb explained Oct. 18 that because of the construction, Cedar Lee’s main entrance has been moved to the side of the building and students will enter and exit through the cafeteria. All safety measures and video surveillance have been moved to the new entrance and the cafeteria will function normally throughout the school year.
She said that the lobby has been closed and protected with a large safety wall. “Students have limited access to the front doors of the office but are having no problems adjusting to coming in the back of the office,” Shorb said.
She added that “almost all of the work during the school year will be outside of the existing structure, once the lobby is secured… All work that requires construction inside of the existing building is to be done over the summer and on breaks -- for example, the cafeteria and renovation of the office.”
School board member Stephanie Litter-Reber (Lee District) donned a hard hat for the occasion.
Celebrities present Friday included two current members of the faculty, English teacher Joann Nunn and the head of Cedar Lee’s physical education and health department, Sheila Jones. Nunn was recognized recently for 55 years of service to the school division. Jones attended Cedar Lee herself from 1973 to 1975, when the school first opened as a junior high.
School board members Donna Grove (Cedar Run District) -- who has served for four terms -- and Duke Bland (Marshall District) -- who has served for 16 years -- both said the discussions about the Cedar Lee expansions were happening for as long as they could remember.
David Lee was also recognized. He served as assistant principal starting in 1994 – when Cedar Lee became a middle school -- before he became principal in 2015. He retired in the spring of 2021, when Shorb was named as his replacement. Shorb spent 10 years at Cedar Lee as a teacher and was Lee’s assistant principal before taking over last spring.
All speakers who attended the ceremony Friday were enthusiastic, no one more so than Shorb. “There is no better place to work, no better community to serve,” she said.
A temporary entrance has been set up at the side of the school while construction work begins in front.
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October 18, 2021 at 07:00PM
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At long last, expansion, renovation of Cedar Lee Middle School has begun - Fauquier Times
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